Git Reflog

Also Known As

TL;DR

Explanation

The reflog records every time HEAD moves: checkout, commit, reset, merge, rebase. Entries expire after 90 days by default. git reflog shows the history with hashes — you can checkout any hash to recover lost work. This is why 'I accidentally reset --hard and lost my commits' is almost always recoverable. git reflog expire and git gc prune eventually remove entries, but the 90-day default gives a generous recovery window.

Diagram

flowchart TD
    ACTION[Any HEAD movement] --> REFLOG[(Reflog entries<br/>90 day retention)]
    subgraph Records
        COMMIT2[git commit]
        CHECKOUT2[git checkout]
        RESET2[git reset]
        MERGE2[git merge]
        REBASE2[git rebase]
    end
    COMMIT2 & CHECKOUT2 & RESET2 & MERGE2 & REBASE2 --> REFLOG
    subgraph Recovery
        VIEW[git reflog<br/>see all positions]
        FIND[Find hash before mistake]
        RESTORE2[git reset --hard hash<br/>or git checkout -b recovery hash]
    end
    REFLOG --> VIEW --> FIND --> RESTORE2
style REFLOG fill:#6e40c9,color:#fff
style RESTORE2 fill:#238636,color:#fff
style RESET2 fill:#f85149,color:#fff

Common Misconception

Why It Matters

Common Mistakes

• Panicking and running git commands that make things worse after an accidental reset.
• Not knowing that git reset --hard is recoverable via reflog — the commits are still there.
• Running git gc --prune=now immediately after a mistake — removes the reflog entries you need for recovery.
• Not using reflog to understand what happened before attempting recovery.

Code Examples

# Accidental hard reset:
git reset --hard HEAD~5  # 'I meant HEAD~1!'
# 5 commits appear lost

# Panicked response:
git gc --prune=now  # DO NOT RUN — permanently deletes the commits

# Recovery via reflog:
git reflog
# Shows:
# abc1234 HEAD@{0}: reset: moving to HEAD~5  ← the mistake
# def5678 HEAD@{1}: commit: feat: add payment webhook  ← lost commit
# ...

# Recover:
git reset --hard def5678   # Go back to before the mistake
# Or:
git checkout -b recovery-branch def5678  # Recover to a new branch

References

• ↗ https://git-scm.com/docs/git-reflog

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